While the great ‘sex on screen’ debate continues to get folks online all hot and bothered, there’s been no shortage of movies and shows steaming up our screens recently — from Heated Rivalry and Bridgerton Season 4 to Wuthering Heights and Pillion. And now, courtesy of Netflix, prepare to get flustered all over again by Vladimir, a darkly comic new limited series in which Rachel Weisz and Leo Woodall — two of the both figurative and literal hottest stars on the planet — play a married professor and the young new colleague she is pining for. Fans at the ready before you watch the trailer below;
Giggling glances, furtive touches, marital unrest, dangerous extracurricular liaisons… it sure looks like all of Rachel Weisz’s hot under the collar college professor’s dreams are coming true in this first trailer for Vladimir. Or are they? Y’see, while there’s some serious chemistry between Weisz’s teacher and Woodall’s charming faculty newcomer in Julia May Jonas’ adaptation of her own best-selling novel, it’s not 100% certain if what we’re seeing is what’s really happening. The Fleabag reminiscent fourth wall breaks, playful cutting, and stray comments from Weisz certainly hint that the lines between fantasy and reality are about to get real blurred.”I just wanted to be sure you were here in the flesh,” Weisz’s nameless protagonist tells Vladimir as she grabs his arm and we glimpse something more compromising. “As opposed to what?” he replies. “Oh… in my dreams,” she tosses back with an ever-so-slight hint of crazy behind the eyes. Consider the tone dutifully set!
The official synopsis for the series — which elsewhere stars John Slattery, Ellen Robertson and Jessica Henwick — reads: “Vladimir follows an unnamed, middle-aged protagonist (Weisz) who is a writer, professor, wife, and mom. As her life unravels, she becomes obsessed with a captivating new colleague, the eponymous Vladimir, at the small liberal arts college where she’s worked for decades.”
Per Netflix’s own marketing, Vladimir (which, in case you hadn’t surmised, is so titled as a subversive jab at Vladimir Nobokov and his icky literary classic Lolita) promises a *cough* romp filled with “sexy secrets, dark humor, and complex characters.” We’ll see whether it can deliver — and if Weisz’s fantasies come true — when Jonas’ series drops on Netflix on 5 March.